emirates7 - António Morgado picked up his second podium place of the week at the Challenge Mallorca. Adding to his victory from Wednesday’s Trofeo Calvià, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG youngster secured the runner-up spot in Friday’s Trofeo Serra Tramuntana.
Fresh off the heels of helping his team to fourth place in the Trofeo Ses Salines Team Time Trial, Morgado was only bettered by time trial specialist Remco Evenepoel on Friday, with the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe soloing his way to victory in Santuari de Lluc.
It was the first road outing of the season for Evenepoel, and the former road race world champion started it with an unstoppable display.
Behind Evenepoel’s solo crusade, Morgado proved the best of the rest, with the Portuguese rider utilising his powers of acceleration to sprint to second place on the day. His UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Felix Großschartner, meanwhile, came home in sixth. Their impressive performances were matched by their young teammate, Adrià Pericas.
Still only 19, Pericas stepped up from the team’s Gen Z ranks over the winter and began his WorldTour career in fine form. Part of the day’s breakaway on the tough slopes of the Coll de Puig Major (5km at 4.9 percent), he went on to earn the combativity award for his efforts.
Of the riders in the breakaway, only Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) matched Pericas on the climb of the Coll de Sóller. The pair were soon joined by Evenepoel, who launched his attack from the peloton. Pericas held Evenepoel’s wheel for a significant time before the Belgian eventually pulled clear.
Evenepoel went on to finish with a lead of more than a minute. Pericas crested the Coll de Sóller as the second rider, and although later caught by the peloton, ended the day with a well-deserved podium visit for his award.
As for Morgado, the 22-year-old mounted a fierce chase, with the Coll de sa Batalla (8.4km at 4.9 percent) shaping the final part of the race. He found himself alongside Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team) and Mathys Rondel (Tudor Pro Cycling), before edging both to secure second place.
Just five seconds later, Großschartner crossed the line in sixth, rounding off another strong day for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
The team’s next task will be Saturday’s Trofeo Andratx-Pollença, the fourth of five races making up this week’s Challenge Mallorca.
Morgado, “I feel good, it was a good race, and it is nice. Today was good weather, a good race, it was a hard one. But I feel good and I did my best. Everybody knows Remco [Evenepoel] is one of the strongest in the world, and he deserved to win, he was the strongest.
I am going to race tomorrow if everything goes right, so let’s see. With these big guys it is hard [to win], but we never know. Our team races to do one thing, and that is win, so we are going to try.”
Fresh off the heels of helping his team to fourth place in the Trofeo Ses Salines Team Time Trial, Morgado was only bettered by time trial specialist Remco Evenepoel on Friday, with the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe soloing his way to victory in Santuari de Lluc.
It was the first road outing of the season for Evenepoel, and the former road race world champion started it with an unstoppable display.
Behind Evenepoel’s solo crusade, Morgado proved the best of the rest, with the Portuguese rider utilising his powers of acceleration to sprint to second place on the day. His UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Felix Großschartner, meanwhile, came home in sixth. Their impressive performances were matched by their young teammate, Adrià Pericas.
Still only 19, Pericas stepped up from the team’s Gen Z ranks over the winter and began his WorldTour career in fine form. Part of the day’s breakaway on the tough slopes of the Coll de Puig Major (5km at 4.9 percent), he went on to earn the combativity award for his efforts.
Of the riders in the breakaway, only Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) matched Pericas on the climb of the Coll de Sóller. The pair were soon joined by Evenepoel, who launched his attack from the peloton. Pericas held Evenepoel’s wheel for a significant time before the Belgian eventually pulled clear.
Evenepoel went on to finish with a lead of more than a minute. Pericas crested the Coll de Sóller as the second rider, and although later caught by the peloton, ended the day with a well-deserved podium visit for his award.
As for Morgado, the 22-year-old mounted a fierce chase, with the Coll de sa Batalla (8.4km at 4.9 percent) shaping the final part of the race. He found himself alongside Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team) and Mathys Rondel (Tudor Pro Cycling), before edging both to secure second place.
Just five seconds later, Großschartner crossed the line in sixth, rounding off another strong day for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
The team’s next task will be Saturday’s Trofeo Andratx-Pollença, the fourth of five races making up this week’s Challenge Mallorca.
Morgado, “I feel good, it was a good race, and it is nice. Today was good weather, a good race, it was a hard one. But I feel good and I did my best. Everybody knows Remco [Evenepoel] is one of the strongest in the world, and he deserved to win, he was the strongest.
I am going to race tomorrow if everything goes right, so let’s see. With these big guys it is hard [to win], but we never know. Our team races to do one thing, and that is win, so we are going to try.”
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